Why was Richard Gere banned from the Oscars  for 20 years?

Long before Will Smith’s infamous slap incident, Richard Gere landed in Oscars hot water. 

In a recent interview with Variety published Dec. 3, Gere, 76, spoke out about his feelings about his 20-year ban from the Academy Awards. 

“I didn’t take it particularly personally,” the “Pretty Woman” actor explained. “I didn’t think there were any bad guys in the situation. I do what I do, and I certainly don’t mean anyone any harm.”

Just what was he talking about? 

Gere has been friends with the Dalai Lama for 45 years, he told the outlet. The actor has frequently criticized China and advocated for Tibet. He’s been banned from China for life. 

His most recent project is executive producing a 2025 documentary about the Dalai Lama titled, “Wisdom of Happiness.”

Why was Richard Gere banned from the Oscars?

In 1993, when the “An Officer and a Gentleman” actor was presenting at the ceremony, he made off-script remarks to denounce China’s “Horrendous, horrendous human rights issue” in Tibet.

Gere was supposed to be onstage to list the nominees for Best Art Direction. “Howard’s End” took home the trophy, that year. 

But instead of reading off the teleprompter, Gere took a detour in his speech to say, “I had a thought about something, actually, before I came out. I want to share it with you. It’s going to be short. I was really struck by this idea that there were one billion people watching this thing. It’s astonishing—one billion people watching. And I was curious about what countries this was actually going to. And it is in fact being seen in China right now.” 

He added, “And the first thought that came to me was, I wondered if Deng Xiaoping is actually watching this right now, with his children and his grandchildren, and with the knowledge that—that—that—what a horrendous, horrendous human rights situation there is in China, not only towards their own people but to Tibet as well.” 

Gere continued, “And when it was this kind of…if something miraculous, really kind of movielike, could happen here, where we could all kind of send love and truth and a kind of sanity to Deng Xiaoping right now in Beijing, that he will take his troops and take the Chinese away from Tibet and allow people to live as free independent people again. So, thought… We send this thought—we send this thought out. Send this thought. Anyhow…art direction demands taste…

Following that speech, the “Primal Fear” actor didn’t return to present at the Academy Awards until 20 years later, in 2013. However, he did attend the ceremony in 2003 when his movie “Chicago” was nominated for “Best Picture.”

Previously in 2007, the Academy denied that Gere was banned. At the time, a representative told GQ, “We don’t ban presenters. There’s no such thing as a ban.”

However, after the 2022 Oscars incident in which Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on Live TV, The Academy did ban Smith for 10 years. 

In April of 2022, the board released a statement that they had “decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards.” 

The Post reached out to the Oscars for comment. 

The Oscars never released an official ban statement for Gere like it did for Smith. But the show’s late producer, Gil Cates, reportedly vowed to ban him.

According to the LA Times, in 1993, Cates said about Gere, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins — who also made political comments at the that year, advocating on behalf of Haiti —   “I wouldn’t invite them to my home, and I won’t invite them to a future show.”

Gere, who is a Buddhist and a chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, also called for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics  if China didn’t peacefully handle unrest in the region.

In 2017, Gere told The Hollywood Reporter that his stance has had a lasting impact on his career.

“There are definitely movies that I can’t be in because the Chinese will say, ‘Not with him.’ I recently had an episode where someone said they could not finance a film with me because it would upset the Chinese.”

The actor has never been nominated for an Oscar, despite getting a Golden Globe nomination for 2002’s “Chicago.” 

The “American Gigolo” actor recalled an incident when he was going to work with an unnamed Chinese director. 

“And two weeks before we were going to shoot, he called saying, ‘Sorry, I can’t do it.’ We had a secret phone call on a protected line. If I had worked with this director, he, his family would never have been allowed to leave the country ever again, and he would never work.”

The actor recalled another incident when he starred in the 1997 movie “Red Corner” as an American businessman in China who has been falsely accused of murder. 

“Everyone was happy with the film,” he recalled. 

“I get calls from the heads of the studio. Went on ‘Oprah.’ Then, out of nowhere, I get calls saying, ‘We don’t want you doing press.’ MGM wanted to make an overall deal with the Chinese. China told them, ‘If you release this film, we’re not buying it.’ And so, they dumped it.”

When asked about the Oscars alleged ban, Gere said, “I didn’t have to put on a tuxedo again. I was fine with that.” 

Gere has continued to work, starring in a 2023 rom com, “Maybe I Do,” with the late Diane Keaton, and he also stars in the Showtime espionage drama “The Agency” produced by George Clooney.

He also said it doesn’t bother him to avoid popcorn flicks. 

 “I’m not interested in playing the wizened Jedi in your tentpole,” he said. 

“The studios are interested in the possibility of making huge profits. But I’m still making the same films that I was making when I started. Small, interesting, character driven and narrative driven stories. It hasn’t impacted my life at all.”